Vesta

Phobos

All posts in category Phobos

The image is of Mars’s 27 x 19 km satellite, Phobos. It hints at many mysteries that await us there. The surface (contrary to the appearance of this well-exposed image) is dark black, probably similar to carbonaceous asteroids, but the exact composition and spectral properties are still uncertain (due partly to scattered reddish light from Mars). Spectra show the surface soil lacks any water, but that soil has been blasted off and recycled through dust belts circling Mars, and then re-accreted onto Phobos. This process likely removes any initial water from the dust, so we can’t be sure whether the surface represents the interior material.